Mary passed quickly following a short, but aggressive cognitive decline of unspecified origin. She was until the very end, herself. Even with impaired short-term memory she still possessed a quick wit, firm personality, and boisterous laugh. She lived a diverse life, with numerous lifelong interests, hobbies, and loves. Born and raised in Northern California she briefly moved to Ohio after falling in love with and marrying her husband of nearly 40 years, Glen Markin. Shortly after their move to Ohio, California called her home and the couple moved back to start their family. After a few years she gave birth to their only child, Glen Markin, II. The family remained in the area for many years before finally moving to Atlanta Georgia for Mary’s work. During her varied career Mary worked as a bank teller, prison guard, telephone operator, and finally a manager for AT&T, from which she retired. But it wasn’t her work that defined her; it was her life away from it. Mary was a prolific reader, amateur geologist, and "gold-bug." Anyone that really knew her likely envisions her with a smile, cherry-coke in one hand, and a book in the other. During her life she easily read several thousand books, mostly of her favorite genre, crime dramas. However some of those books were also on mineralogy and gemology. She often talked about finding amethyst, rubies, and turquoise on her many camping trips over her life, but above all it was gold that was her favorite. For many years she enjoyed panning in the mountains of Northern California and Nevada. However it was her longtime aspiration to go prospecting in Alaska. She finally took her trip in 1999 after signing up with the Lost Dutchman’s Mining Association for their annual trip to Alaska. However, this trip ended while driving through the Yukon Territory after developing a deep vein thrombosis that landed her in an Anchorage emergency room. But with dogged determination she succeeded a few years later, this time flying to Alaska, and spending two weeks with the group prospecting along the Cripple River camp in Nome, Alaska. Following her retirement from AT&T and from prospecting, Mary focused on reading and spending time with her Husband and their dog, Rascal. She also spent much time visiting with her son and his wife, Mari and her two grand-pugs, Shrek and Fiona. Mary Markin is survived by her husband Glen, son Glen II, daughter-in-law Mari, sister Lu, mother Helen, and dog Rascal.